The Minister of Economy, Trade and Enterprise, Carlos Cuerpo, and the Egyptian Minister of Investment and Trade, Hassan El KhatibThe Minister of Economy, Trade and Enterprise, Carlos Cuerpo, at the Signing of Agreements with the Government of Egypt (Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la Bellacasa)
The Governments of Spain and the Arab Republic of Egypt have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen and improve economic, commercial, industrial and technical cooperation in Madrid, on the occasion of the meeting between the presidents of the two countries.
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Spain and Egypt strengthened economic and trade relations with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding
This agreement, initiated by the Minister of Economy, Trade and Enterprise, Carlos Cuerpo, and the Egyptian Minister of Investment and Trade, Hassan El Khatib, establishes a framework for maintaining an open and frequent channel of dialogue to promote the expansion and diversification of bilateral economic and trade cooperation in fields relevant to the economic development of both countries.
In this regard, it foresees the creation of an ‘Economic Dialogue’ composed of representatives of both parties, which will meet annually on a rotating basis in Egypt and Spain. This dialogue will make the necessary decisions to achieve the objectives of the MoU and identify new areas of cooperation, make recommendations for the implementation of the agreement and discuss possibilities for strengthening bilateral relations.
Areas of cooperation include promoting linkages between economic policymakers, government agencies, professional organisations and business communities, as well as encouraging participation in development projects and organising business events.
Strong bilateral trade relations
Bilateral trade in goods between our countries exceeded €3 billion in 2023 and approached that figure by the end of 2024 (January-November period).
Egypt is the second largest recipient of Spanish exports in Africa, exceeding 1.45 billion euros in 2024. Within the European Union, Spain is the second largest destination for Egyptian exports, receiving 11.8% of total EU exports.
Most of this bilateral trade revolves around key sectors of Egyptian industry, such as machinery, chemicals, automobiles and electronics.
As for Spanish investments in Egypt, they reached €215 million in 2022, creating more than 2,600 jobs in diversified sectors. This makes Egypt our seventh largest investment destination in Africa, while Egypt is the continent’s fourth largest investor in our country.
Boosted by the Bilateral Financial Protocol and the Joint Declaration on Financial Cooperation, signed during President Sánchez’s visit to Egypt in 2021, Spain has increased its financial support for various projects. Among them, the Spanish instrument of the Fund for the Internationalisation of Enterprise (FIEM) has approved almost 600 million euros in favourable conditions for projects in Egypt, mainly in the railway sector.